Exploring the potential impact ofintroducing a sailing simulator for thedevelopment of chartplotters

The development of chartplotters for maritime navigation requires comprehensive testing across many environmental conditions to ensure accurate performance. However, developing features related to sailing poses some additional challenges. This thesis explores the potential of introducing a sailboat simulator to enhance the development process of chartplotters. It was conducted together with a partner organization within the recreational maritime industry. The research focuses on three core aspects: the current use of simulation technologies in the development of embedded systems, the minimal requirements for a sailboat simulator, and the potential impact of such a tool on the development process. The study employs a combination of a literature review and semi-structured expert interviews with chartplotter developers to gather insights. The results reveal that the current simulator tools used in the partner organization lack the ability to simulate realistic sailing conditions, leading to significant manual adjustments by developers. Two key features emerged as essential for a practical sailboat simulator: an accurate representation of wind-driven sailing dynamics and integration with the NMEA2000 protocol for seamless interaction with other internal tools, as well as the chartplotters. Although additional features such as scenario scripting and multiple sail configurations were recommended, these two aspects are fundamental to creating a useful sailing simulator. In conclusion, the sailboat simulator has the potential to help improve the development process, reduce dependence on physical tests, and improve general development efficiency.